Today is Children’s Day! (Jy, please don’t tell me to wait for Senior Citizen’s Week) I woke up at 4.30am and did violin practice. I gave everyone 2 hours worth of free entertainment/wake up call/noise pollution. (Sorry Vivienne and Nichola, no pantene)

This exam really involved a lot of people. My accompanist, Chor Kwan, Joycelyn, my parents and indirectly, Jean, who had to bear with all that noise at home.

I was the first candidate, so since I reached early, I could use the practice room longer. By then, I wasn’t that relaxed. My tempo was getting shaky and it sounded stiff. Joycelyn tried very hard to get me to relax.

The exam was mainly good. I had a few slips, but that was expected. It wasn’t the best I played, but it was the best I could do at that time. The greatest challenge I face when I perform is letting go of my mistakes. At times, I really wanted to repeat that bar and prove that I could play it correctly, but then, you have to know when to give up and forgive.

My piece with Ruri also went very well. We were able to keep together and bring out the musicality we worked on. I remember I played one note out of tune. Sigh… but never mind. What’s done is done. To quote Jean, happy thoughts, happy thoughts.

Finally, 50% of my music grade is over. I estimate I spent at least 365 hours preparing for those 15 minutes. Whatever the outcome, I enjoyed the process of preparing. And of course, the journey doesn’t end here. There’s still diploma to prepare for next year. Oh and maybe a trio gang recital at the Esplande next year (my accompanist invited us after listening to us practice).

To everyone who encouraged me and helped me along in any way, thanks a lot.

I’m so tired and sleepy. I’ve been averaging 4 hours of violin the past few days. My fingertips hurt slightly this morning. And I only slept 4 hours because I couldn’t fall asleep (yea too excited).